How many people here are prepared for an emergency?

[wooddustmaker]

An emergency can consist of many different things. How ready are you for what may come your way? Any thoughts, any discussions about this? Anything that you have experienced lately that makes you think anything differently?

I am always up for discussion on this topic. Anyone else in the same boat?

 

[baymule]

I also have farm clothes and town clothes. I have my farm shoes and town shoes. Sometimes I forget to change shoes and go to town looking like a homeless person. LOL

 

[Hinotori]

Hubby fills the sink when he shaves once a week. He uses the electric a few times a week as well but is usually a bit scruffy.

We have a small water heater. Showers run me about 6 minutes and that's with me shaving pits and conditioning hair. There is a trickle function on the showerhead we use. Only way for two hot back to back showers.

Hubby was on a boat a lot in the navy. Showers were timed. Time was only for time water was running. So he's well used to turning it off. Wet self, soap up, rinse.

Water is off while brushing teeth too.

We don't wash clean clothes either like some people I know. "Oh I wore this shirt 2 hours it's dirty." Nope that is hung and worn next day as well. Jeans are washed once a week unless muddy or spilled something. I have clothes for wearing outside and others for wearing to town. That's what grandma did.

 

[Mini Horses]

I also have farm clothes and town clothes. I have my farm shoes and town shoes. Sometimes I forget to change shoes and go to town looking like a homeless person. LOL

YEP!! I've jumped into the truck without thinking about the clothes I was wearing while working in the dirt, barn, etc. Generally I suddenly "needed" something. AndI have a lot of really old clothes -- still good condition, just old. Still wear nicely. Fortunately haven't changed size in a long time.

Another problem is that I come home from work, hurrying to feed and wear my "good" shoes TO the barns. Bad girl. Most often happens if I stopped at feed store on way home &/or weather or daylight is pushing me.

 

[Mini Horses]

Not much left after a tornado. One plan here is to dig an old style storm shelter into our hill.

You have a hill? My grandparents had a "hill" behind their house & dug a "cellar" into it for canned goods & winter veg storage. I loved going in & seeing the shelves of colorful jars of food! OH, they lived in WV, in a holler, so a little more than a hill -- mountain foothill. But, it would make a great shelter as well as food storage. They framed sides & top with timber from the woods, added much of the dirt back onto top & it had been there for years. Temps & humidity seemed ideal for food as surrounding bare earth did it's magic. Dirt floor. "Watch for snakes" was always a warning as I opened the door. Yes, could happen.

 

[baymule]

Good ideas, I am unprepared for a water shortage. On community water, a 1200’ deep well is practically at the end of our driveway. Hard to justify sinking $12,000 to $15,000 in a well. But we could turn our efforts towards collecting rainwater.

 

[Britesea]

I always wondered what Tornados ate before trailer parks were invented...

 

[Hinotori]

Slow neanderthal

 

[unclejoe]

We're fairly prepared, but illumination would be an issue in short order....not much in the way of candles and lamps.

Solar landscape lights. They don't throw off a lot of light but if your completely in the dark, they seem mighty bright.
In the winter when there is less time for charging the batteries, make groups of 3-4 lights. Take the first group and let it charge all day. When the sun goes down, remove the battery so the light doesn't come on. When the sun comes up, put the battery back in and let them charge all day again. Even during the shorter days of winter you can get them up to full charge in 2-3 days. So if you have 3 groups of 4 lights, you'll always have a 4 unit group fully charged.

 

[Calista]

I need to add that my obsession with water no doubt stems from a shallow well on the family farm that always ran dry at the end of the summer, necessitating visits to the local Y for showers and filling water jugs for drinking until the rains returned.

This taught me a reverence for clean potable water that drives my husband crazy, but it's only taken 40 years to bring him around to my way of thinking! ("Hey, turn off the tap while you're brushing your teeth!")